As Takumi lay on the floor, gasping for air, Dr. Setme and Dr. Koch exchanged a look of surprise. Dr. Setme spoke up first, "It's quite impressive that he's still conscious after receiving those four injections. His regeneration is exceptional."

 

Dr. Koch nodded in agreement, "Yes, a normal person would be writhing in pain for hours after being injected with those integration shots. It seems his genetic modifications have really paid off."

 

Takumi could hear their conversation, but he was too weak to respond. He lay there, barely conscious, trying to gather his strength.

 

Dr. Setme and Dr. Koch continued to discuss Takumi's resilience, oblivious to his suffering. "We'll have to increase the dosage next time," Dr. Setme said thoughtfully.

 

Dr. Koch smirked, "Yes, we need to push him to his limits. We can't have him failing his missions."

 

Takumi felt a surge of anger and frustration. He knew he needed to get out of there, to escape from these sadistic scientists. He began to slowly crawl towards the door, hoping that he could make it out before they noticed.

 

Dr. Setme and Dr. Koch were still deep in conversation, and they didn't notice Takumi's escape attempt. Takumi crawled as quietly as he could, his movements slow and deliberate.

 

Finally, he reached the door and pushed it open, revealing a long hallway. He stumbled to his feet and started running, his heart pounding in his chest.

 

Behind him, he could hear the sound of footsteps. Dr. Setme and Dr. Koch must have realized he had escaped. But Takumi didn't look back. He ran as fast as he could, determined to put as much distance between himself and those two monsters as possible.

 

When he reached the door however it wouldn’t open no matter how hard Takumi pushed and pulled. Just as Takumi tried to kick the door, he felt an intense shocking pain shoot through his body. He fell to the ground, convulsing in agony. As he looked up, he saw Dr. Setme and Dr. Koch approaching, a cruel smiles on their faces.

 

Dr. Setme was holding a remote in his hand, and Takumi realized that he had activated some kind of electric shock mechanism in the door.

 

Dr. Koch laughed, "You really thought you could escape from us, Alpha? How foolish."

 

Takumi gritted his teeth, trying to fight through the pain. He knew he was in trouble. Dr. Setme and Dr. Koch were clearly not going to let him go without a fight.

 

Dr. Setme walked up to him, the remote still in his hand. "You see, Alpha, you belong to us. You were created for one purpose only, and that is to be our test subject. You will never escape from us."

 

Takumi glared up at him, hatred burning in his eyes. He knew he had to find a way out of this. He couldn't let these two sadistic scientists control him forever.

 

But for now, he was helpless. He lay there, convulsing in pain, as Dr. Setme and Dr. Koch looked on with amusement.

 

They laughed as Takumi writhed on the ground, unable to move or speak. Dr. Koch spoke first, "You're not getting out of here, Alpha. Even if you did escape, we would just use that infant to take your place."

 

Dr. Setme chimed in, "Yes, it's all for the greater good. And speaking of cruelty, are you really that heartless that you would leave a poor innocent child to suffer through this treatment alone?"

 

Takumi wanted to scream at them, to tell them how wrong they were, but he couldn't find the words. The pain was too much, and he could feel himself slipping away.

 

Dr. Koch and Dr. Setme continued to taunt him, but their voices grew fainter and fainter as Takumi slipped into unconsciousness.

 

When Takumi regained consciousness, he found himself back in his cell. He sat up slowly, still feeling the effects of the electric shock. He gritted his teeth, determined not to show any weakness in front of his captors.

 

As he looked around, he realized that his cell had been changed. The walls were now made of reinforced steel, and the door was thicker than before. It seemed that Dr. Setme and Dr. Koch were taking no chances with his escape attempts.

 

Takumi sighed heavily, knowing that his situation had become even more dire. He had to find a way out of this, but he couldn't do it alone. He needed help.

 

As he lay back down on his cot, Takumi began to think of a plan. He knew he couldn't trust Dr. Setme and Dr. Koch, but maybe there was someone else he could turn to. His best bet would be to try to get close to some of the assistants. They’re just hired to do a job and aren’t too invested in this place unlike Dr. Setme and Dr. Koch.

 

Takumi knew that getting close to the assistants would be difficult. They were always busy, and he didn't want to arouse suspicion by being too friendly. But he had to try.

 

Over the next few days, Takumi observed the assistants carefully. He noticed that some of them seemed more approachable than others. One young woman, in particular, caught his eye. She seemed kind and gentle, and she didn't seem to be as involved in the more brutal aspects of the experiments.

 

Takumi decided to take a chance and strike up a conversation with her. He waited until she was alone, and then he approached her tentatively.

 

"Excuse me," he said softly, "I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute?"

 

The woman looked up at him, surprised. "Sure," she said. "What do you want to talk about?"

 

Takumi hesitated for a moment before speaking. He knew he had to be careful. "I just wanted to ask you if you knew anything about the baby they brought here. Is she okay?”

 

The woman looked at him sympathetically. "Yes I know," she said. "She doing well so far the first few days were hard on her with the constant injections."

 

Takumi nodded, grateful for the information. He knew he had to be careful around Dr. Setme and Dr. Koch. However, he planned to talk to this woman and get her to sympathize with either himself or the infant in hopes she may one day feed him useful information or be useful as a pawn to escape.

 

Takumi continued to play the long game, slowly gaining the trust of the woman and her colleagues. He would chat with them during their breaks, sharing stories and jokes to lighten the mood. He would listen to their complaints and offer a sympathetic ear. Over time, they began to see him as more than just a test subject, but as a person.

 

But it wasn't easy. Takumi had to endure more VR battles and punishments that were worse than the last. Dr. Setme and Dr. Koch seemed to be getting more and more sadistic, and Takumi feared that he would break under the constant strain.

 

Still, he persevered. He knew he couldn't give up, not when he was so close to finding a way out.

 

One day, the woman pulled Takumi aside after a particularly brutal experiment. "I don't know how much more of this I can take," she whispered to him. "It's just too much. I feel like I'm a part of something terrible."

 

Takumi nodded, understanding. "I know," he said. "But it's okay you’ve never done anything bad to me or the child so don’t let it bother you. I know you’re a kind person and I believe one day we can all leave this place."

 

The woman looked at him, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Do you really think we can escape?"

 

Takumi nodded. "I do. But I don’t think it’ll be anytime soon so for now we just have to do our best. We have to be smart about it though. I need to get better at piloting if you could maybe find me a book or any information on the subject I would appreciate it."

 

The woman hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Okay," she said. "I'll help you."